QUOTE
Altering his pregame routine, Kirk Hinrich now arrives so early at the United Center for pregame shooting that he might find ice left over from the Blackhawks someday.
The result has been hot shooting, although the third-year guard insists that's not the reason he entered Monday's action at 48.2 percent, exactly eight percentage points higher than his career field-goal percentage.
"I think I'm just being more aggressive offensively," Hinrich said. "Every time I shoot it, I'm shooting with a lot more confidence. A lot of times, I started games in the past and missed my first four shots and I'd lose confidence. I wouldn't be as aggressive and would defer to my teammates."
Hinrich winces when asked about his career shooting mark.
"I feel like I can be at least a mid-40 percent shooter," he said. "I'm a good enough shooter where I need to shoot a higher percentage."
Hinrich went 3-for-10 against Boston.
The result has been hot shooting, although the third-year guard insists that's not the reason he entered Monday's action at 48.2 percent, exactly eight percentage points higher than his career field-goal percentage.
"I think I'm just being more aggressive offensively," Hinrich said. "Every time I shoot it, I'm shooting with a lot more confidence. A lot of times, I started games in the past and missed my first four shots and I'd lose confidence. I wouldn't be as aggressive and would defer to my teammates."
Hinrich winces when asked about his career shooting mark.
"I feel like I can be at least a mid-40 percent shooter," he said. "I'm a good enough shooter where I need to shoot a higher percentage."
Hinrich went 3-for-10 against Boston.
I thought this was an interesting article from the tribune. This is just the snippet that relates to Hinrich, but the big thing that stood out to me is his confidence. I remember in years past you'd see Kirk just dissapear from games when his shot wasn't right. Or you'd see by his face how he was playing but now when I see him miss 3 or 4 early shots, I still see him take shots and I think this is a huge improvement.
My guess is playing for the US team really helped him with this because it was the first time in his career that he was able to play with guys that are overly confident in there skill who are not afraid to take shots and consistently take shots (albeit, Ben Gordon probably fits this bill but he is no Wade/Lebron or Carmelo).
I look forward to continuing to see him play more agressively on the offensive end and to continue to become a better offensive player while still being one of the top defensive guards in the league.
